1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computers and data processing systems. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method and system for recognizing a pattern in a video segment to identify the video segment.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Video data includes moving image data and associated sound data which, when realized on a television or other equivalent device, allow a user to view and hear video segments. Such video segments might include, for example, a commercial, a movie, a television program, a news broadcast, a talk show, a cartoon, or any other identifiable segment of video data.
It is desirable to be able to automatically identify video segments. Conventionally, data representing the identity of the associated video segment is provided in the vertical blanking interval of the video signal. The xe2x80x9cvertical blanking intervalxe2x80x9d is an off-screen, non-viewable portion of the video signal that is sent between each video frame. In the National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) format widely used in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and several Central and South American countries, the vertical blanking interval corresponds to the last 45 lines of the 525 lines in the video frame. Other television formats also have similar vertical blanking intervals between frames.
An advantage of using the vertical blanking interval to transmit identification data is that the data within the vertical blanking interval is transparent to the viewer. Since the vertical blanking interval corresponds to a non-viewable, off-screen portion of a video signal, the viewable portion of the image is not affected by the identification data. Furthermore, the associated audio data is also not affected. Thus, the viewer""s experience in viewing and hearing the video segment is not degraded by data identifying the video segment.
Unfortunately, the use of the vertical blanking interval to identify video segments suffers in that the entity desiring to automatically identify the video segment may have little or no control over whether that identification data gets included in the vertical blanking interval. For example, a typical viewer, out of curiosity, might like to have a video segment automatically identified using identification data in the vertical blanking interval. Furthermore, television and associated peripheral device manufacturers might like to be able to automatically identify video segments in order to provide services to the viewer such as video segment blocking. Even the producer of the video segment may have little control over the data included in the vertical blanking interval. For example, a cable company or other distributor might cut data out the vertical blanking interval altogether during distribution of the video segment.
Another technique of including information in a video signal is encoding it in the overscan portion, which represents the portion of the video segment that lies outside of the normal rectangular viewing area of a television. For example, bar codes and the like can be transmitted in the overscan portion. However, such information can be lost or made unusable prior to the signal being received by the viewer. Further complicating the situation, restrictions on the inclusion of identification data in the overscan portions of the video segment or in the vertical blanking interval may also be imposed by law in some jurisdictions. For example, in Japan, such identification information is prohibited unless a special license is obtained.
In light of these problems, what is desired is a method and system for automatically identifying a video segment without relying on data in the overscan portion or the vertical blanking interval of the video signal.
The present invention overcomes the above-mentioned difficulties by identifying video segments (e.g., commercials or television programs) without using any identification data that may or may not be provided in the non-displayed overscan portion of the video signal. Instead, the video segment is identified by recognizing patterns in the viewable portion of the video image data and/or in the video sound data. If the pattern is unique to a specific video segment, that video segment is identified by, for example, looking up the pattern in a table or another database that correlates or associates patterns with video segment identifications. Any number of functions may be performed using this identification. The present invention is not restricted to any one of these functions.
The identification is automatic. Thus, the identification does not require any input from a viewer, thus avoiding inconvenience for the viewer. Furthermore, the identification does not require the inclusion of identification data in the non-displayed portions of the video segment such as in the vertical blanking interval. Thus, the video segment may be identified even when distributors remove identification data from the vertical blanking interval or the overscan portion of the video signal.
As stated above, some jurisdictions might restrict any data identifying the video segment from being included in any non-displayed portions of the video segment. The present invention does not rely on identification data in the non-displayed portions of the video segment in order to identify the video segment. Thus, the video segment may be identified even in these jurisdictions.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.